Pain Assessment Disparities by Race, Ethnicity, and Language in Adult Hospitalized Patients.

AIM: Nurses assess patients' pain using several validated tools. It is not known what disparities exist in pain assessment for medicine inpatients. Our purpose was to measure differences in pain assessment across patient characteristics, including race, ethnicity, and language status. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of adult general medicine inpatients from 2013 to 2021. The primary exposures were race/ethnicity and limited English proficiency (LEP) status. The primary outcomes were 1) the type and odds of which pain assessment tool nursing used and 2) the relationship between pain assessments and daily opioid administration. RESULTS: Of 51,602 patient hospitalizations, 46.1% were white, 17.4% Black, 16.5% Asian, and 13.2% Latino. 13.2% of patients had LEP. The most common pain assessment tool was the Numeric Rating Scale (68.1%), followed by the Verbal Descriptor Scale (23.7%). Asian patients and patients with LEP were less likely to have their pain documented numerically. In multivariable logistic regression, patients with LEP (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.58-0.65) and Asian patients (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.70-0.78) had the lowest odds of numeric ratings. Latino, Multi-Racial, and patients classified as Other also had lower odds than white patients of numeric ratings. Asian patients and patients with LEP received the fewest daily opioids across all pain assessment categories. CONCLUSIONS: Asian patients and patients with LEP were less likely than other patient groups to have a numeric pain assessment and received the fewest opioids. These inequities may serve as the basis for the development of equitable pain assessment protocols.

Predictors of readmission following outpatient urological surgery.

PURPOSE: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act increases oversight of surgical outcomes and ties hospital readmissions to Medicare reimbursement. Given the increasing volume of outpatient urological procedures, to our knowledge this study provides the first multi-institutional multivariate analysis of patient factors that contribute to readmission. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the 2011 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database we identified 7,795 patients. Multiple logistic regression was used to predict 30-day unplanned hospital readmissions controlling for demographics, clinical characteristics and comorbidities. Readmission rates of the 5 most common procedures were calculated along with the rate of postoperative complications associated with readmission. RESULTS: Outpatient urological surgery had an overall 3.7% readmission rate. The 5 most common procedures were cystourethroscopy and resection of bladder tumor (readmission rate 4.97%), laser prostatectomy (4.27%), transurethral resection of prostate (4.24%), hydrocele excision (1.92%) and sling surgery for urinary incontinence (0.85%). The most common comorbidities in readmitted patients were hypertension, diabetes and smoking. Risk adjusted multiple regression indicated that cancer history (OR 3.48), bleeding disorder (OR 2.03), male gender (OR 1.38), ASA(®) level 3 or 4 (OR 1.34) and age (OR 1.01) were significant predictors of readmission. Readmitted patients also had a higher 30-day complication rate. CONCLUSIONS: Readmission after outpatient urological surgery occurs at a rate of 3.7%. A history of cancer, bleeding disorder, male gender, ASA level 3 or 4 and age were associated with readmission along with greater rates of medical and surgical complications. Our results may help guide risk reduction initiatives and prevent costly readmissions.

Risk factors for 30-day perioperative complications after Le Fort colpocleisis.

PURPOSE: We identified rates of and risk factors for complications after colpocleisis using the American College of Surgeons NSQIP® database. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women treated with Le Fort colpocleisis from 2005 to 2011 were identified in the database. Primary outcomes were 30-day complication rates. Secondary outcomes were risk factors for complications and the impact of age and a concomitant sling on morbidity. Clinical and procedural characteristics were compared using the chi-square test and 1-way ANOVA. RESULTS: We identified 283 women, of whom 23 (8.1%) experienced complications. The most common complication was urinary tract infection in 18 women (6.4%). There was 1 death for a 0.4% mortality rate. Increased complications were associated with age less than 75 years (p = 0.03), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p = 0.03), hemiplegia (p = 0.03), disseminated cancer (p = 0.03) and open wound infection (p = 0.02). Six patients (2.1%) required return to the operating room within 30 days. Complication rates did not differ based on operative time (p = 0.78), inpatient status (p = 0.24), resident involvement (p = 0.35), concomitant sling placement (p = 0.81) or anesthesia type (p = 0.27). Women undergoing colpocleisis without (191) and with (92) a sling had similar baseline characteristics. Colpocleisis without and with a sling had similar rates of complications (7.9% vs 8.7%, p = 0.81), urinary tract infection (5.8% vs 7.6%, p = 0.55), return to the operating room (2.1% vs 2.2%, p = 0.97) and mortality (0% vs 1.1%, p = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS: Mortality and complication rates after colpocleisis are low with urinary tract infection being the most common postoperative complication. Concomitant sling placement does not increase 30-day complication rates.

Impact of resident involvement on urological surgery outcomes: an analysis of 40,000 patients from the ACS NSQIP database.

PURPOSE: In addition to excellent patient care, the focus of academic medicine has traditionally been resident training. The changing landscape of health care has placed increased focus on objective outcomes. As a result, the surgical training process has come under scrutiny for its influence on patient care. We elucidated the effect of resident involvement on patient outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from the 2005 to 2011 NSQIP® participant use database. Patients were separated into 2 cohorts by resident participation vs no participation. The cohorts were compared based on preoperative comorbidities, demographic characteristics and intraoperative factors. Confounders were adjusted for by propensity score modification and complications were analyzed using perioperative variables as predictors. RESULTS: A total of 40,001 patients met study inclusion criteria. Raw data analysis revealed that cases with resident participation had a higher rate of overall complications. However, after propensity score modification there was no significant difference in overall, medical or surgical complications in cases with resident participation. Resident participation was associated with decreased odds of overall complications (0.85). Operative time was significantly longer in cases with resident participation (159 vs 98 minutes). CONCLUSIONS: Urology resident involvement is not associated with increased overall and surgical complications. It may even be protective when adjusted for appropriate factors such as case mix, complexity and operative time.

Assessing for differences in opioid administration during inpatient end-of-life care for patients with limited English proficiency.

BACKGROUND: Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) may have worse health outcomes and differences in processes of care. Language status may particularly affect situations that depend on communication, such as symptom management or end-of-life (EOL) care. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess whether opioid prescribing and administration differs by English proficiency (EP) status among hospitalized patients receiving EOL care. METHODS: This single-center retrospective study identified all adult patients receiving "comfort care" on the general medicine service from January 2013 to September 2021. We assessed for differences in the quantity of opioids administered (measured by oral morphine equivalents [OME]) by patient LEP status using multivariable linear regression, controlling for other patient and medical factors. RESULTS: We identified 2652 patients receiving comfort care at our institution during the time period, of whom 1813 (68%) died during the hospitalization. There were no significant differences by LEP status in terms of mean OME per day (LEP received 30.8 fewer OME compared to EP, p = .91) or in the final 24 h before discharge (LEP received 61.7 more OME compared to EP, p = .80). CONCLUSION: LEP was not associated with differences in the amount of opioids received for patients whose EOL management involved standardized order sets for symptom management at our hospital.

Sex concordance between physicians and patients and discharge opioid prescribing.

Inpatient pain management is challenging for clinicians and inequities are prevalent. We examined sex concordance between physicians and patients to determine if discordance was associated with disparate opioid prescribing on hospital discharge. We examined 15,339 hospitalizations from 2013 to 2021. Adjusting for patient, clinical, and hospitalization-level characteristics, we calculated the odds of a patient receiving an opioid on discharge and the days of opioids prescribed across all hospitalizations and for patients admitted with a common pain diagnosis. We did not find an overall association between physician-patient sex concordance and discharge opioid prescriptions. Compared to concordant sex pairs, patients in discordant pairs were not significantly less likely to receive an opioid prescription (odds ratio: 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.95, 1.15) and did not receive significantly fewer days of opioids (2.1 fewer days of opioids; 95% CI: -4.4, 0.4). Better understanding relationships between physician and patient characteristics is essential to achieve more equitable prescribing.

A Focused Screening and Clinical Intervention with Streamlined Outpatient Linkage for Hospitalized Patients with Opioid Use Disorder Experiencing Homelessness.

Background: Patients experiencing homelessness have higher rates of substance use and related mortality, often driven by opioid overdose. Conversely, opioid use disorder (OUD) is a leading risk factor for homelessness. Our goal was to test the efficacy of an electronic health record (EHR) screen in identifying this vulnerable population during hospitalization and to assess the feasibility of a bundled intervention in improving opioid safety. Methods: We assessed patients' housing status, substance use, previous MOUD treatment, barriers to MOUD treatment and readiness to take MOUD in and out of the hospital. For each post discharge follow up call, patients were asked about their MOUD status, barriers accessing treatment, current substance use, and housing status. We also assessed team members perceptions and experiences of the study. Results: We enrolled 32 patients with housing insecurity and OUD. The mean age was 44, the majority self-identified as male (78%), and mostly as White (56%) or Black (38%). At each follow up within the 6-months post-discharge, reach rates were low: 40% of enrollees answered at least 1 call and the highest reach rate (31% of patients) occurred at week 4. At the third and sixth-month follow ups, >50% of subjects still taking MOUD were also using opioids. Conclusion: Our clinician augmented EHR screen accurately identified inpatients experiencing OUD and PEH. This intervention showed high rates of attrition among enrolled patients, even after providing cellphones. The majority of patients who were reached remained adherent to MOUD though they reported significant barriers.

Racial, Ethnic, and Language-Based Inequities in Inpatient Opioid Prescribing by Diagnosis from Internal Medicine Services, a Retrospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: Opioid administration is extremely common in the inpatient setting, yet we do not know how the administration of opioids varies across different medical conditions and patient characteristics on internal medicine services. Our goal was to assess racial, ethnic, and language-based inequities in opioid prescribing practices for patients admitted to internal medicine services. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all adult patients admitted to internal medicine services from 2013 to 2021 and identified subcohorts of patients treated for the six most frequent primary hospital conditions (pneumonia, sepsis, cellulitis, gastrointestinal bleed, pyelonephritis/urinary tract infection, and respiratory disease) and three select conditions typically associated with pain (abdominal pain, acute back pain, and pancreatitis). We conducted a negative binomial regression analysis to determine how average administered daily opioids, measured as morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs), were associated with race, ethnicity, and language, while adjusting for additional patient demographics, hospitalization characteristics, medical comorbidities, prior opioid therapy, and substance use disorders. Results: The study cohort included 61,831 patient hospitalizations. In adjusted models, we found that patients with limited English proficiency received significantly fewer opioids (66 MMEs, 95% CI: 52, 80) compared to English-speaking patients (101 MMEs, 95% CI: 91, 111). Asian (59 MMEs, 95% CI: 51, 66), Latinx (89 MMEs, 95% CI: 79, 100), and multi-race/ethnicity patients (81 MMEs, 95% CI: 65, 97) received significantly fewer opioids compared to white patients (103 MMEs, 95% CI: 94, 112). American Indian/Alaska Native (227 MMEs, 95% CI: 110, 344) patients received significantly more opioids. Significant inequities were also identified across race, ethnicity, and language groups when analyses were conducted within the subcohorts. Most notably, Asian and Latinx patients received significantly fewer MMEs and American Indian/Alaska Native patients received significantly more MMEs compared to white patients for the top six most frequent conditions. Most patients from minority groups also received fewer MMEs compared to white patients for three select pain conditions. Discussion. There are notable inequities in opioid prescribing based on patient race, ethnicity, and language status for those admitted to inpatient internal medicine services across all conditions and in the subcohorts of the six most frequent hospital conditions and three pain-associated conditions. This represents an institutional and societal opportunity for quality improvement initiatives to promote equitable pain management.

Racial Differences in Postoperative Opioid Prescribing Practices in Spine Surgical Patients.

BACKGROUND: As the opioid epidemic accelerates in the United States, numerous sociodemographic factors have been implicated its development and are, furthermore, a driving factor of the disparities in postoperative pain management. Recent studies have suggested potential associations between the influence of race and ethnicity on pain perception but also the presence of unconscious biases in the treatment of pain in minority patients. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the perioperative opioid requirements across racial groups after spine surgery. METHODS: A retrospective, observational study of 1944 opioid-naive adult patients undergoing a neurosurgical spine procedure, from June 2012 to December 2019, was performed at a large, quaternary care institute. Postoperative inpatient and outpatient opioid usage was measured by oral morphine equivalents, across various racial groups. RESULTS: Case characteristics were similar between racial groups. In the postoperative period, White patients had shorter lengths of stay compared with Black and Asian patients ( P < .05). Asian patients used lower postoperative inpatient opioid doses in comparison with White patients ( P < .001). White patients were discharged with significantly higher doses of opioids compared with Black patients ( P < .01); however, they were less likely to be readmitted within 30 days of discharge ( P < .01). CONCLUSION: In a large cohort of opioid-naive postoperative neurosurgical patients, this study demonstrates higher inpatient and outpatient postoperative opioid usage among White patients. Increasing physician awareness to the effect of race on inpatient and outpatient pain management would allow for a modified opioid prescribing practice that ensures limited yet effective opioid dosages void of implicit biases.

Intractable hemorrhagic cystitis after hematopoietic stem cell tranplantation--is there a role for early urinary diversion in children?

PURPOSE: Severe hemorrhagic cystitis is a major complication in the pediatric population undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Percutaneous nephrostomy tube drainage as a treatment for severe hemorrhagic cystitis has rarely been investigated. We examined children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for risk factors associated with severe hemorrhagic cystitis, as well as our experience with percutaneous nephrostomy tube placement as an adjunctive management strategy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using prospectively collected data from the Blood and Marrow Transplant Database at the University of Minnesota, we reviewed 40 pediatric patients with severe hemorrhagic cystitis from 1996 to 2010. Specific treatment for each patient was administered at the discretion of the attending physician and generally included bladder irrigation before bladder fulguration or percutaneous nephrostomy tube placement. A percutaneous nephrostomy tube was placed in 11 patients due to the intractable nature of the hemorrhagic cystitis. RESULTS: Of the 11 patients who underwent percutaneous nephrostomy tube drainage 5 (45%) had improvement of the hemorrhagic cystitis within 30 days and the same number had long-term resolution. Among the patients with long-term resolution hemorrhagic cystitis resolved an average of 12.4 days after percutaneous nephrostomy tube placement, and the tubes were removed an average of 8.8 weeks after placement. Through September 2011 mortality among patients with percutaneous nephrostomy tubes was 55% (6 of 11 patients), which was identical to the overall mortality in the severe hemorrhagic cystitis group (22 of 40). No death could be directly attributed to hemorrhagic cystitis or percutaneous nephrostomy tube placement. CONCLUSIONS: Placement of percutaneous nephrostomy tubes for treatment of severe hemorrhagic cystitis results in long-term improvement in intractable hemorrhagic cystitis, and is a safe and viable option for the majority of patients.

Racial Disparities in 7-Day Readmissions from an Adult Hospital Medicine Service.

BACKGROUND: Health systems have targeted hospital readmissions to promote health equity as there may be racial and ethnic disparities across different patient groups. However, 7-day readmissions have been understudied in adult hospital medicine. DESIGN: This is a retrospective study. We performed multivariable logistic regression between patient race/ethnicity and 7-day readmission. Mediation analysis was performed for limited English proficiency (LEP) status. Subgroup analyses were performed for patients with initial admissions for congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cancer. PATIENTS: We identified all adults discharged from the adult hospital medicine service at UCSF Medical Center between July 2016 and June 2019. MAIN MEASURES: The primary outcome was 7-day all-cause readmission back to the discharging hospital. RESULTS: There were 18,808 patients in our dataset who were discharged between July 2016 and June 2019. A total of 1,297 (6.9%) patients were readmitted within 7 days. Following multivariable regression, patients who identified as Black (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.15-1.58, p <0.001) and patients who identified as Asian (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.06-1.50, p = 0.008) had higher odds of readmission compared to white patients. Multivariable regression at the subgroup level for CHF, COPD, and cancer readmissions did not demonstrate significant differences between the racial and ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: Black patients and Asian patients experienced higher rates of 7-day readmission than patients who identified as white, confirmed on adjusted analysis.

Language barriers and postoperative opioid prescription use after total knee arthroplasty.

Background: Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) face difficulties in access to postoperative follow-up care, including post-discharge medication refills. However, prior studies have not examined how utilization of prescription pain medications after discharge from joint replacement surgeries differs between English proficient (EP) and LEP patients. Objective: This study explored the relationship between English language proficiency and opioid prescription refill requests after hospital discharge for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods: This was an observational cohort study of patients ≥18 years of age who underwent TKA between January 2015 and December 2019 at a single academic center. LEP status was defined as not having English as the primary language and requesting an interpreter. Primary outcome variables included opioid pain medication refill requests between 0 and 90 days from discharge. Multivariable logistic regression modeling calculated the odds ratios of requesting an opioid refill. Results: A total of 2148 patients underwent TKA, and 9.8% had LEP. Postoperative pain levels and rates of prior opioid use did not differ between LEP and EP patients. LEP patients were less likely to request an opioid prescription refill within 30 days (35.3% vs 52.4%, p < 0.001), 60 days (48.7% vs 61.0%, p = 0.004), and 90 days (54.0% vs 62.9%, p = 0.041) after discharge. In multivariable analysis, LEP patients had an odds ratio of 0.61 of requesting an opioid refill (95% CI, 0.41-0.92, p = 0.019) within 30 days of discharge. Having Medicare insurance and longer lengths of hospitalization were correlated with lower odds of 0-30 days opioid refills, while prior opioid use and being discharged home were associated with higher odds of opioid refill requests 0-30 days after discharge for TKA. Conclusions: Language barriers may contribute to poorer access to postoperative care, including prescription medication refills. Barriers to postoperative care may exist at multiple levels for LEP patients undergoing surgical procedures.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Discharge Opioid Prescribing From a Hospital Medicine Service.

BACKGROUND: Differential opioid prescribing patterns have been reported in non-White patient populations. However, these disparities have not been well described among hospitalized medical inpatients. OBJECTIVE: To describe differences in opioid prescribing patterns among inpatients discharged from the general medicine service based on race/ethnicity. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: For this retrospective study, we performed a multivariable logistic regression for patient race/ethnicity and whether patients received an opioid prescription at discharge and a negative binomial regression for days of opioids prescribed at discharge. The study included all 10,953 inpatients discharged from the general medicine service from June 2012 to November 2018 at University of California San Francisco Medical Center who received opioids during the last 24 hours of their hospitalization. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: We examined two primary outcomes: whether a patient received an opioid prescription at discharge, and, for patients prescribed opioids, the number of days dispensed. RESULTS: Compared with White patients, Black patients were less likely to receive an opioid prescription at discharge (predicted population rate of 47.6% vs 50.7%; average marginal effect [AME], -3.1%; 95% CI, -5.5% to -0.8%). Asian patients were more likely to receive an opioid prescription on discharge (predicted population rate, 55.6% vs 50.7%; AME, +4.9; 95% CI, 1.5%-8.3%). We also found that Black patients received a shorter duration of opioid days compared with White patients (predicted days of opioids on discharge, 15.7 days vs 17.8 days; AME, -2.1 days; 95% CI, -3.3 to -0.9). CONCLUSION: Black patients were less likely to receive opioids and received shorter courses at discharge compared with White patients, adjusting for covariates. Asian patients were the most likely to receive an opioid prescription.

Overcoming the Racial Hierarchy: the History and Medical Consequences of "Caucasian".

The term Caucasian is ubiquitous in the medical field. It is used without a significant consideration of its history or medical necessity. First, the term Caucasian has racist historical origins in a beauty-based hierarchy with implied superiority. It is derived from a 1700's historical scheme which places Caucasians above the other, degenerated racial groups. Second, the pseudo-scientific justification for this hierarchy has been co-opted to legally justify discrimination against minority groups in the USA. Third, the unnecessary and incorrect application of antiquated racial identifiers negatively impacts patient care. Disentangling real, clinically meaningful genetic differences from superficial racial determinations remains an ongoing challenge. Framing patient care through Caucasian or white lens leads to the unequal care and the otherization of minority groups. Fourth, we must develop a more appropriate, racially sensitive system for patient identification in clinical practice and research. This demands intentionality, precision, and consistency.

Market-Based Health Care in Specialty Surgery: Finding Patient-Centered Shared Value.

: The US health care system is struggling with rising costs, poor outcomes, waste, and inefficiency. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act represents a substantial effort to improve access and emphasizes value-based care. Value in health care has been defined as health outcomes for the patient per dollar spent. However, given the opacity of health outcomes and cost, the identification and quantification of patient-centered value is problematic. These problems are magnified by highly technical, specialized care (eg, neurosurgery). This is further complicated by potentially competing interests of the 5 major stakeholders in health care: patients, doctors, payers, hospitals, and manufacturers. These stakeholders are watching with great interest as health care in the United States moves toward a value-based system. Market principles can be harnessed to drive costs down, improve outcomes, and improve overall value to patients. However, there are many caveats to a market-based, value-driven system that must be identified and addressed. Many excellent neurosurgical efforts are already underway to nudge health care toward increased efficiency, decreased costs, and improved quality. Patient-centered shared value can provide a philosophical mooring for the development of health care policies that utilize market principles without losing sight of the ultimate goals of health care, to care for patients.

Increased anaesthesia duration increases venous thromboembolism risk in plastic surgery: A 6-year analysis of over 19,000 cases using the NSQIP dataset.

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in the postoperative setting. Various risk stratification schema exist in the plastic surgery literature, but do not take into account variations in procedure length. The putative risk of VTE conferred by increased length of time under anaesthesia has never been rigorously explored. AIM: The goal of this study is to assess this relationship and to benchmark VTE rates in plastic surgery. METHODS: A large, multi-institutional quality-improvement database was queried for plastic and reconstructive surgery procedures performed under general anaesthesia between 2005-2011. In total, 19,276 cases were abstracted from the database. Z-scores were calculated based on procedure-specific mean surgical durations, to assess each case's length in comparison to the mean for that procedure. A total of 70 patients (0.36%) experienced a post-operative VTE. Patients with and without post-operative VTE were compared with respect to a variety of demographics, comorbidities, and intraoperative characteristics. Potential confounders for VTE were included in a regression model, along with the Z-scores. RESULTS: VTE occurred in both cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. Longer surgery time, relative to procedural means, was associated with increased VTE rates. Further, regression analysis showed increase in Z-score to be an independent risk factor for post-operative VTE (Odds Ratio of 1.772 per unit, p-value < 0.001). Subgroup analyses corroborated these findings. CONCLUSIONS: This study validates the long-held view that increased surgical duration confers risk of VTE, as well as benchmarks VTE rates in plastic surgery procedures. While this in itself does not suggest an intervention, surgical time under general anaesthesia would be a useful addition to existing risk models in plastic surgery.

Open vs Minimally Invasive Partial Nephrectomy: Assessing the Impact of BMI on Postoperative Outcomes in 3685 Cases from National Data.

PURPOSE: Previous studies analyzing the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and complications after partial nephrectomy have been underpowered. We use a national surgical database to explore the association of BMI with postoperative outcomes for Open Partial Nephrectomy (OPN) and Minimally Invasive Partial Nephrectomy (MIPN). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Years 2005-2012 of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) were queried for OPN and MIPN. Postoperative complications were organized according to Clavien Grades and compared across normal weight (BMI kg/m(2)=18.5-<25.0), overweight (BMI=25.0-<30.0), and obese (BMI≥30.0) patients using standard descriptive statistics and multivariate regression modeling. RESULTS: Of 1667 OPNs and 2018 MIPNs, 46.2% of patients were obese. Operative time was 16.91 minutes longer on average for obese patients (p<0.001). The overall complication rate after OPN was 17.9%, 17.2%, and 17.9% (p=0.945) for normal weight, overweight, and obese patients, respectively; while the overall complication rate after MIPN was 6.9%, 6.3%, and 8.7% (p=0.147). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that overweight and obese patients were not at increased risk for any complication grade after OPN and MIPN compared to normal weight patients. When comparing procedures, MIPN had a lower complication rate compared to OPN for obese (8.7% vs 17.9%, p<0.001) and morbidly obese patients (9.2% vs 22.2%, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although surgery in obese patients is longer compared to normal weight patients, it does not appear to increase the likelihood of 30-day postoperative complications for OPN or MIPN. However, obese patients undergoing MIPN had lower complication rates than those undergoing OPN.

Contemporary national surgical outcomes in the treatment of ureteropelvic junction obstruction.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate contemporary national trends and outcomes of open pyeloplasty (OP) vs minimally invasive pyeloplasty (MIP) in the treatment of ureteropelvic junction obstruction using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. METHODS: Patients treated by OP or MIP between 2006 and 2011 were identified by The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes corresponding to pyeloplasty as their primary operative procedure. Perioperative variables were analyzed using the chi-square and the Student t test. Multiple logistic regressions were used to identify morbidities and readmission risk factors. RESULTS: Three hundred fifty-five patients were identified. Of them, 20.2% of cases were OP and 79.8% were MIP. There was a significant increase in MIP from 33% in 2006 to 83% in 2011 (P <.001). A total of 11.7% of patients in the MIP group underwent outpatient surgery (P = .002). Patients treated at a teaching hospital were over 3 times more likely to undergo MIP (odds ratio = 3.17; P = .001). There was significantly longer hospitalization in OP vs MIP (3.9 vs. 2.2 days; P = .001). OP was associated with significantly increased risk of reoperation or postoperative morbidity compared with MIP (11.1% vs. 4.2%; P = .02). Multivariate analysis confirmed a higher rate of overall morbidity in the OP cohort (P = .03). Male patients had significantly higher postoperative morbidity or reoperation rates (odds ratio = 4.38; P = .002). There was no significant difference in operative time between groups (P = .2). CONCLUSION: Within the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program hospitals, MIP is associated with decreased reoperation and postoperative morbidity compared with OP.

Surgical duration and risk of venous thromboembolism.

IMPORTANCE: There is a paucity of data assessing the effect of increased surgical duration on the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE). OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between surgical duration and the incidence of VTE. DESIGN, SETTINGS, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective cohort of 1,432,855 patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia at 315 US hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from 2005 to 2011. EXPOSURE: Duration of surgery. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The rates of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and VTE within 30 days of the index operation. Surgical duration was standardized across Current Procedural Terminology codes using a z score. Outcomes were compared across quintiles of the z score. Multiple logistic regression models were developed to examine the association while adjusting for patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and comorbidities. RESULTS: The overall VTE rate was 0.96% (n = 13,809); the rates of DVT and PE were 0.71% (n = 10,198) and 0.33% (n = 4772), respectively. The association between surgical duration and VTE increased in a stepwise fashion. Compared with a procedure of average duration, patients undergoing the longest procedures experienced a 1.27-fold (95% CI, 1.21-1.34; adjusted risk difference [ARD], 0.23%) increase in the odds of developing a VTE; the shortest procedures demonstrated an odds ratio of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.83-0.88; ARD, -0.12%). The robustness of these results was substantiated with several sensitivity analyses attempting to minimize the effect of outliers, concurrent complications, procedural differences, and unmeasured confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among patients undergoing surgery, an increase in surgical duration was directly associated with an increase in the risk for VTE. These findings may help inform preoperative and postoperative decision making related to surgery.

A systematic review of single-stage augmentation-mastopexy.

BACKGROUND: The safety of single-stage augmentation-mastopexy remains controversial given the dual purpose of increasing breast volume and decreasing the skin envelope. Currently, the literature is relatively sparse and heterogeneous. This systematic review considered complication profiles and pooled summary estimates in an attempt to guide surgical decision-making. METHODS: Multiple databases were queried for combined augmentation-mastopexy outcomes. Whenever possible, meta-analysis of complication rates was performed. RESULTS: Twenty-three studies met inclusion criteria. Average follow-up varied from 16 to 173 weeks, with a majority under 1 year. The pooled total complication rate was 13.1 percent (95 percent CI, 6.7 to 21.3 percent). The most common individual complication was recurrent ptosis, with an incidence of 5.2 percent (95 percent CI, 3.1 to 7.8 percent), followed by poor scarring (3.7 percent; 95 percent CI, 1.9 to 6.1 percent). The pooled incidences of capsular contracture and tissue-related asymmetry were 3.0 percent (95 percent CI, 1.4 to 5.0 percent) and 2.9 percent (95 percent CI, 1.2 to 5.4 percent), respectively. Infection, hematoma, and seroma were rare, with pooled incidences of less than 2 percent each. Three published studies reported data on patient satisfaction. The reoperation rate obtained from 13 studies was 10.7 percent (95 percent CI, 6.7 to 15.4 percent). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis encompassed 4856 cases of simultaneous augmentation-mastopexy. Study heterogeneity was high because of differences in surgical techniques, outcome definitions, and follow-up durations. This review suggests that with careful patient selection, pooled complication and reoperation rates for single-stage augmentation-mastopexy are acceptably low.